#9 Lady Vols Top #4 South Carolina, 73-61

Meighan Simmons' final regular-season home game in Knoxville was a success as the #9 Lady Vols topped #4 South Carolina, 73-61.

Tennessee clinched the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament with the victory over the regular-season champion Gamecocks, who will have the No. 1 seed in Duluth later this week.

The Lady Vols finish the regular-season 24-5 overall and 13-3 in the league while the Gamecocks head to the postseason after suffering their third loss (26-3) and their second conference defeat (14-2).

Tennessee will play on Friday at 6 p.m., against the winner of the Seed 7 vs. Seed 10 game, which will be played on Thursday.

South Carolina was led by Aleighsa Welch, who had 16 points and nine rebounds. Tiffany Mitchell added 11 points and Alaina Coates chipped in with 10.

The Lady Vols committed just seven turnovers and out-rebounding South Carolina, 48-39, led by Harrison's monster game.

Harrison scored the game's first six points and Tennessee maintained the lead the rest of the way. The Lady Vols led by as many as 11 in the first half on a Harrison layup with two minutes left. Tennessee held a 38-30 advantage at halftime.

In the second half, Tennessee continued to hold South Carolina at bay. The closest the Gamecocks got was within six points on a Coates jumper with 8:42 left in the game, making it 53-47.

After SC, cut it to a two possession game, the Lady Vols scored the next six points and held a double-figure lead for the final eight minutes of the game.

Simmons knocked down a pair of jumpers to put Tennessee up 59-47 with 6:28 left and the game was never in doubt from there.

Tennessee overcame a 2-of-10 day from 3-point range and a rough start at the foul line. The Lady Vols missed all four of their first-half free throws and started 5-of-12 before making their final eight from the charity stripe to seal the game.

The Fort Payne Motor Speedway in Northeast Alabama off I-59 near Rainesville is slated to host its third and final United Crate Racing Alliance event of the 2017 season Saturday with Round #10 of the Title Chase. All eyes will be on local favorite Kenny Hall (# 38) of Geraldine as he attempts to three-peat with UCRA trifecta after winning both sanctioned races (May and July) ... (click for more)

Walker County, Ga., residents may face a special levy to deal with the Erlanger Health System debt as well as a new penny SPLOST transportation tax - on top of a planned two mil property tax rise. The two mil would equal to $80 on a $100,000 home. Sole Commissioner Shannon Whitfield said all of that is to take care of mountains of debt he said he inherited from the Bebe Heiskell ... (click for more)

The state on Thursday played a preliminary hearing tape of shooting victim Kadarius Johnson after he refused to come to the Criminal Court trial of the man accused of shooting him in the back of the head. Witnesses said the car chase led through the downtown Tourist District near the Riverfront with a man in a white SUV firing shots at the driver of a Buick sedan. Prosecutor ... (click for more)

Whether you're Alt-Left or Alt-Right, Coolidge Park isn't the place to showcase your hate and indifference with one another. Just because it's your right, that doesn't necessarily mean that you should do it. Many have this misconception that this park is named after a President, Nope. It's named after a great man, a true patriot, and Medal of Honor recipient from right ... (click for more)

Here in Lookout Valley on the far southwest edge of Chattanooga and Hamilton County, trees and rocks are plentiful but sidewalks are as rare as unicorns. It’s a land the governments forget – until tax collection time. The recent county reappraisal spoke about ‘comps,’ recent sale prices of comparable local properties. But the assessors defined ‘comparable’ to suit themselves, ... (click for more)